Heisman winner in ball brawl

Adam Pincus

Wednesday

Mar 26, 2014 at 10:08 AM

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- All it took was a push.

Gators first baseman Zack Powers shoved D.J. Stewart after the Seminoles' left fielder collided with left-hander Danny Young while hustling out a dribbler down the first-base line. Dugouts emptied. A scrum ensued at first base that included Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston.

Florida (16-9) held off No. 1 Florida State (19-5) in a wild 4-1 victory on Tuesday night at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville that was more exciting than the final score indicated. Powers, Stewart and Young all received ejections. The Gators withstood a ninth-inning Seminoles' rally to clinch the season series.

Jose Brizuela led off the inning with a home run into deep right center and Brett Knief followed with a single before UF closer Ryan Harris converted his fourth save this season.

"There's no doubt that the testosterone and the adrenaline kicked in. Those men are very strong and very active," Florida State coach Mike Martin Sr. said. "The hands got a little quicker. The motivation rose. Just very proud of our baseball team, and the way that we fought. We certainly didn't back down from anything, and that makes every Seminole proud, because that's what we're about."

So how did a baseball game go from a midweek snoozer to a game that Harris called the most exciting he's played in this series during his three seasons at UF?

It started in the first inning when Florida didn't waste any time getting to Florida State starter Peter Miller. It took six-straight balls to begin the game for the Florida State bullpen to get warm and coach Mike Martin to make his first mound visit. The Gators loaded the bases without swinging the bat.

Florida sent seven to the plate. Braden Mattson singled in Casey Turgeon on a blooper that dropped into shallow right field. Florida added two more in the sixth inning on a throwing error by Miller while fielding a bunt from Justin Shafer and on a fielder's choice from freshman John Sternagel. The freshman drove in Florida's fourth run on a single to center in the eighth.

"We're fast and we can bunt well," Mattson said facetiously about UF's opportunistic offense. "When you can't hit, you've got to bunt. It's what we've been doing."

Shafer, making his first pitching appearance since Feb. 19 and his first start in 2014, tossed four scoreless innings against Florida State (19-5), giving up two hits. He was around the plate all night, which led to six groundouts.

"To hold an offense like Florida State to no runs over four innings and he didn't pitch in a while? I think that's pretty darn good," Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan said.

Tuesday marked the 19th meeting between these two teams at a neutral site. Fans for each were split across the middle. Both squads entered Tuesday looking to rebound from tough stretches. Florida dropped its weekend series in College Station, Texas, while Florida State had lost two of its last four.

They'll face off again in Tallahassee on April 8. The Gators clinched the season series for the first time since 2012 and beat the Seminoles for the second time in a week.

"They got a good team. We got a good team. You never want to see something like that little scrap happen," Sternagel said. "It's such a good rivalry. Good clubs. Man, it was fun. This place was rocking. It was sweet to be a part of."

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